An experiment in using basic death metal techniques in a way that develops and flows like classical music (while remaining primal and expressing a profound sense of yearning). I can get people who don't like it, because it relies an awful lot on awkward rhythms and weird unresolved melodies to create tension, but if you don't think this is ATG's best album you probably shouldn't be on a music site.

I think this is definitely one of their better albums. The sound is raw... but that doesn't make it bad. The
playing is albeit, a bit sloppy... the drumming has a tendency waver out of control... Lindberg's vocals are
still very angry and primitive. But hell. There is SO MUCH emotion here. It took me a great many listens to
understand. It's not like a NWONBM album where the rawness of the production and the tortured feelings
slam you in the face. You have to dig a bit deeper to find it. I believe, for that reason, some people find this
album hard to swallow, as it is a bit of a chore to listen to. AtG is young and angry, and they're letting loose
everything they've got. The atmosphere created is dark and laden with hopelessness, magnified by the
brilliant use of violins (which I wish they would use more in their later albums) that seem to fit in quite well.
The musicianship isn't even that bad. There are some definitely some killer riffs in here. What we have here
is premature band, with much to improve upon.

Despite this, this album is astounding, and shows what AtG is capable of. I really don't like Slaughter of the
Soul. It's the kind of thing I'd listen to if I wanted instant gratification. This... this isn't a masterpiece, but it
certainly is something special.

Essentially a flawed masterpiece. It's not a conventional death metal album in the least, the songs are all extremely dense and sprawling in scope, and the production IS fairly bad.rBut what makes this such a fantastic album is the band's ability to consistently build off the riffs and develop them throughout the course of the songs running time. The band play with an astoinishing level of technical skill (though they never beat you over the head with it) and precision. Tomas Lindberg's vocals are at their most deranged and even emotional on this album, and the drumming manages to keep things together very impressively. The violin cameos are kind of hit and miss in quality, but when they hit, they hit hard.rIt's flawed. But it's an absolutely incredible album and deserves some respectful listens on the listener's part.